 |
| 8 Kilometers to Phon Phisai |
In the past five years or so, it has become popular to make signs with similar form, as the way of advertising your business or perhaps some landmark, having a distance of "0" to wherever the sign is and then distances to other places.
 |
| 0 Kilometers to This Intersection |
While kilometer posts may not always be very good at letting you know where you are, they are helpful in determining progress towards your destination or from a starting point.
In my home country, these things are more commonly known as milestones, a term that has grown to have significance beyond just measuring distance.
 |
| Bicycle in Rubber Plantation |
This past month I reached a milestone on my bicycle—I reached 10,000 kilometers on this particular bike. I realize that this is not much compared to what serious bike riders do (it took me 26 months), still, it was fun to see the odometer put on a fifth digit.
Last month was also another significant milestone for us--it was a year since the official launch of our church.
 |
| Official Launch of Phon Phisai Fellowship Church |
Because they help measure progress, milestones can help fight discouragement. Sometimes we are tempted to compare where we are to where we would like to be, and the difference is so great that it can be discouraging. On the other hand, we can compare where we are to where we used to be and then things might look a bit better.
So while it may be discouraging to look at the above photo and count those who are no longer attending our church, I can also see in there some who a year ago were just "coming" to church who are now beginning to lead. At the same time there are new faces that are not in the picture. I can also rejoice in that there is still a church in our sub-district, while a year and a half ago there was none.
The main reason I ride my bicycle is for my heart health. It's good exercise. I keep track of my miles in order to make sure I am getting enough exercise.
Our spiritual lives need checkpoints as well.
Our lives have milestones like birthdays, anniversaries, etc. At these times we can take the opportunity turn and look back and say, "I used to..., but now I...". Paul writes about this kind of thing, comparing the church at Colossae as it was to how it used to be, "You also did these things in the past, when you lived like them." (Colossians 3:7 ERV)
On the other hand, if we look back and end up saying something like, "I also used to do these things in the past—and I still do," maybe it's time to use the milestone to instigate some change in our lives. We don't want to be like the Corinthian church, to whom Paul had to write, "I could not talk to you the way I talk to people who are led by the Spirit. I had to talk to you like ordinary people of the world. You were like babies in Christ. And the teaching I gave you was like milk, not solid food. I did this because you were not ready for solid food. And even now you are not ready." (1 Corinthians 3:1b, 2 ERV)
Maybe I can use the kilometer posts on the highways as reminders to check for progress in other areas of my life as well.
Thanks for these posts about your ministry. As I looked at the side of the display, I could see another sort of milestone - the number of posts in your blog. Over the past 7 years (2011-2017) you have posted 180 times. That's about 26/year or approximately one post every two weeks - your posting speed if you will. But in 2018 the speed has slowed down and you have only posted 9 times in 7 months, or only slightly faster than once/month.
ReplyDeleteOne could consider this change in "posting speed" in many ways. Some negative ways would be that you have less to report or that you have grown tired of posting. But an equally valid and positive way would be that you are having such success and you are so busy with making progress that you don't have the time to post.
Personally, I think it's more closely related to the latter. I see an increasing depth in the type of ministry that you are having - less concern about wanting to have to show progress and more investment in the lives of the new believers that you are beginning to build. There may be fewer students at guitar lessons, but the ones there are because they want to not only learn a skill but to be able to use it in ministry. You are no longer just counting numbers of individuals in your small congregation, but as you noted in this post, some of them are not just "coming" but beginning to lead.
I support your ministry, not just because you are my brother, but because you are using your life to make a difference - an eternal difference - in the lives of others. So I'm not worried about counting the number of "posts" in your blog as a sort of milestone. Rather, I am looking at the souls that you are saving and rejoicing with each one.
This past week I was looking at the facebook posts of someone who was touring through Jasper and Banff National Parks in Alberta and thinking back to when I did the same in the couple of days after I attended your wedding. It reminded me of how you and Ingrid met and of the long journey you have been on together since then - Haiti, then the southern US, then west to CA, then to Thailand. These too were milestones in your journey. And I have rejoiced with you each step of the way.
So keep up the good work. Keep your focus on the relationships that you are building and the souls that are being saved through you. And I will continue to rejoice with each milestone along your path.
I thank God for both you and Ingrid. I love Thailand and its people. I have spent more time in that wonderful country than another I have had the opportunity to visit over the years. And I share with you a concern for their eternal souls. Keep up the good work!
Blogging speed is definitely related to other activities. I have to have a good block of empty time to think and write and there has not been so much of that this year. When we have free time, we are usually pretty tired and don't want to think too hard about things.
Delete